I went to Ludwig last night expecting to see the depth of Maryland on display against Colgate. Alex Shinsky got his first start in the midfield (tally me a big Alex Shinsky fan) and redshirt sophomore Marquez Fernandez replaced London Woodberry at center half.
Things didn't exactly go well in the first half and had a Colgate goal not been waved off, it would have been full freak out mode at the break.
As substitutes, John Stertzer, Schillo Tshuma, Jereme Raley, Jordan Cyrus, Sunny Jane, and Patrick Mullins took control of the game in the second half.
There were not a lot of people out for the match -- this will change Friday -- but for those that were there, Patrick Mullins demonstrated (conclusively) that he should be in play for a Generation Adidas offer. Maybe he's stuck as a Home Grown product of the Chicago Fire. If so, bummer. If not, there is not much more he needs to do to establish himself as an elite professional prospect.
The night was cold. The opponent was underwhelming. Teammates were eschewing passes to open players in order to try and break down opponents for individual glory. Mullins seemed unaffected.
Maybe it was because the Crew loudly heralded the two Deuce goals that sent the USMNT to the hexagon, but Mullins is the same height as Dempsey (6'1"), he has roughly the same build as Clint (~77 kg), and damned if his self-assured style of floating through a game terrorizing opponents doesn't seem like a fitting tribute to the best soccer player America's produced.
Mullins got an assist and a goal; Maryland got its 12th win.
Bring on Mikey Lopez.
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